I Wear: Suited & Booted

Here’s a post I’ve had in my drafts for a few weeks but not put up because I didn’t want to crowd the page with only pics of myself. It was meant to be my last hat-tip to the slight winter that Mumbai had this year. Now that summer is baring its raging self at us already, I’m going to bring it up as a belated goodbye to the cold season.

The occasion was a date, a formal dinner at a ‘nice’ restaurant. It was a weekday and I knew he’d be returning from work so he’d be in office formals. I thought it would be nice to match his look for a change instead of contrasting his starkness with my colour.

January had been cold enough for me to only want to step out with my legs and feet covered. But the evenings of February still brought in cool temperatures. The only thing in my decidedly well-equipped winter wardrobe that hadn’t gotten any use were my knee-high boots.

I bought these at the height of the boots fashion from Catwalk. The heels are just short of trip-worthy (I’m a regular klutz). Also the lack of rivets, buttons and shiny attachments gives this pair a distinctly powerful feel.

Now the best (and only) real way to wear these is with a skirt. I’ve worn them to work, mostly with knee-length skirts and occasionally with a calf-length shift with slits on the side. Very chic, very power-dressing.

For the evening, I decided to stick to the semi-formal look to match the boy. I picked a black A-line skirt from Allen Solly with an oversized clutch from Westside. I really like this particular clutch on account of its size (aren’t most clutches too tiny really?) and how comfortable it feels in my palm and against my size. Most of the time the severity of the pattern makes it a mismatch with my bohemian style. But it was a perfect fit with the skirt.

Now the top had me thinking for a bit. A white shirt would be the obvious choice but that was a bit too ‘board meeting’ for this occasion. Then I thought of the powder-blue drape shrug that came to me as a gift from the US. I’d never quite found a way to wear it. It’s as long as a shirt but with no buttons and the front falls in folds on the side like an open jacket. On the other hand, it’s half-sleeved so it can’t really be worn in chillier weather.

The weather that evening was perfect for light layering. I could have probably picked out any plain tee-shirt to wear inside, for a colour-blocking effect. But I stuck to black and picked out a slinky sheer top that I’d usually only wear to a party or a pub. A silk scarf in black and white around the neck and inside the drape-shrug added both modesty and some interest to the stark ensemble.

Update: Blurring the face may detract from the quality of the picture and subsequently the post. But trolling & harassment are causing the only option to be no posts at all. I think all of you will agree with me that this is a reasonable solution. I don’t wish to discuss this further so please do not start any conversations on this issue, on this blog.